By Philip Buda Ladu
Police in Eastern Equatoria State said Our Lady of Holy Rosary Catholic Parish in Torit town received payment of 1,061 USD dollars last week, as compensation for replacement of a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Another separate amount of 600,000 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) was also paid as transport costs for the Catholic Church symbol of worship.
A 23-year-old young lady called Wanda Imoo was taken to Torit police, in April this year for reportedly, under peculiar circumstances, destroying a statue of Virgin Mary in the church.
Wanda, who is said to be a member of the Christian Revival Church, was initially charged with mischief after she destroyed the statue of the Virgin Mary.
Major Justin Kiliopas the police spokesperson for Eastern Equatoria State told No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper over the weekend that a case was opened at the police station in Torit on April 5, 2024, with the complainant being a nun called Sr. Clementina Utuari and the legal representative advocate, Beda Kasmiro.
“So they came and opened the case, and they brought with them the lady to the police station,” Kiliopas stated.
“They said this lady had destroyed their image of the Virgin Mary in the church. So we opened the case under Section 2315; this is a mischief. The lady is called Wanda Imoo; she’s 23 years old” he added.
In a statement to the police, the accused narrated that she went to the church during prayers and asked for permission to speak to the congregation, but she was turned down twice in the first and second mass, during which she got mad and completely destroyed the statue of the Virgin Mary.
“From the statement, we asked her (the suspect) what happened exactly. Wanda said she had a vision that those people were worshipping the image, the idol, and she came to tell them not to pray for this idol,” the police spokesperson narrated.
Maj. Kiliopas stated that after the case was opened in April, it was passed to the public prosecution attorney (PPA) to go to court, but the relatives of the lady came and said they wanted to compensate for the damage done and drop the case.
“So they reached an agreement with the church to pay the price of the statue which is about 1,061 USD, and then the transport of this image from Nigeria, where it’s used to be brought, is SSP 600,000; that’s what they will pay, and then they dismiss the case from the prosecution attorney,” Kiliopas explained
He further clarified that when the case was first opened, the church had demanded over 3,000 USD in compensation for the damages caused, but later the invoice for the purchase of a new statue came for 1,061 USD.
The police spokesperson noted that the case was opened on April 5, 2024, and officially dismissed on July 25, 2024.
“The compensation is settled; they paid the money to the church in front of the senior prosecutor in Torit, and they dismissed the case.” Maj. Kiliopas affirmed.
According to him, the accused was only detained for 3 days and bailed out with 500 dollars and a plot document surrendered by the father as a guarantee; however, this was returned after the charges were cleared.
Advocate Beda Kasmiro Anthony is the legal representative of Our Lady of Holy Rosary Parish Church, Torit Catholic Diocese. He had been following the case on behalf of the church with the spiritual lady.
Kasmiro told this outlet that the accused lady seems to have committed the act out of some outrageous religious perception from her church.
“We established that prior to that act, the lady attended a crusade organized by her church where they were informed that anything that they will see around here in some of the churches is actually evil, and if you go and break them, it may not be a crime but will instead be a blessing,” he stated.
The church advocate emphasized that what concerned them most was that this lady had destroyed the statue that’s worth more than 4,000 dollars, adding that they had all the receipts, which they submitted to the police, though they had subtracted the transportation from Lagos.
“We agreed that they must compensate; they must deposit this money with the police because they said they were not interested in the case going ahead; let the case actually rest, and they will pay this money,” Advocate Kasmiro confirmed.
He underscored that as a church, they nod to the agreement for settlement of the matter outside court because they don’t want somebody to be criminalized because maybe something has gone mad with her.
“This holy material here is worth compensating because it’s on the church as a symbol of worship in the first place, and you can’t, by your faith, go to another church and begin destroying the properties of that church,” Kasmiro echoed.